There is Hope For the Middle

E.J. Dionne, looking at British and French and German elections, cautions that politics is moving to the center, and somewhat to the left, not going haywire. Part of this might be reaction to Trump.

“Corbyn boosted the Labour Party vote to 40 percent, 9.5 points higher than it was two years ago. And even though the election was a disaster for May, the Conservative vote rose to 42.4 percent, a 5.5-point increase. It was the highest Labour share since 2001 and the highest Conservative share since 1983. The sharp decline of the Scottish Nationalists — they lost more than a third of their seats — further signaled a return to an earlier political era.

“In other words, claims that everything has gone haywire in Western politics since Brexit and Trump’s election are exaggerated, as we are also likely to see in the German election this fall. And backlashes to Trump continue to push electorates in Europe toward the center or left. This certainly played a role in Macron’s victory in France last month and continued to strengthen his middle-of-the road political movement in Sunday’s voting.

“As for May, she sought to recast British conservatism in a moderately nationalist way. It might be seen as Trump-lite, with more coherence than the American brand.”